Two weeks ago, Prophecy Today published an article looking at the Shemitah year, which indicated the strong possibility of a major financial crash which could take place last weekend, as the Jewish year drew to a close.
This was neither a prophecy nor a prediction, but speculation based on biblical teaching and recent financial patterns, and clearly stated as such. Indeed, the author, Ian Liddle, who has contributed to Prophecy Today on a number of occasions, also suggested his own idea of what might happen – but the main focus was the Shemitah year and its potential impact.1
What is Shemitah
Shemitah, also called the Sabbath year, is the seventh year in the Hebrew calendar, which God instructed the people of Israel to observe – a year of rest, and the remission of debts. It was a year when they were not to sow or reap, but just live on what the land produced, and on the abundant harvest from the year before, which God had promised to provide.
All of the produce of the land was to be open for the poorest to take as they had need (Lev 25:1-7). In Deuteronomy 15:1-2, we read: “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release [of debts]. And this is the form of the release: every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbour shall release it – he shall not require it of his neighbour or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release.”
This period of rest and debt cancellation would in normal circumstances cause a temporary massive ‘economic’ downturn (in a system that was very different to today’s), but was one which was planned for and intended to be a blessing to all, with an abundant harvest the year before to see them through. It would be a great leveller between rich and poor. (A much bigger reset would take place every fifty years, following the seventh Shemitah year, when people who had been forced by circumstances to ‘sell’ their family land and/or offer themselves as slaves to ensure survival would be able to return to their land and regain their freedom). There is little evidence that this ever took place, though it possibly may have at times.
It would be a great leveller between rich and poor.
Recent Shemitahs and economic crises
Yet in recent times, some have seen what they regard as a pattern of huge economic downturn in the world economy in nearly every seven year cycle, on the Jewish Shemitah year, with the culmination frequently, though not always, happening on the final day of the Jewish year – the 29th Elul – the day of nullification of debts. Now, due to the Jewish calendar being lunar, and ours being solar, the months and year-end do not fall on the same calendar day each year, but it’s always around September time.
As Ian wrote, “in 2001, the events of 9/11 dictated an immediate shutdown of the New York Stock Exchange for almost a week – then, when the stock exchange reopened on Monday 17th September, Wall Street collapsed with the market plunging 684 points in one session. September 17th 2001 was also 29th Elul, the ‘Day of Nullification’. So, the big crash occurred precisely on the final day of Elul, when financial accounts are transformed and wiped clean.
“Likewise, in the following Shemitah year of 2007-08, the global financial crash reached its peak on the 29th Elul, the exact ‘Day of Nullification’. Were these two financial crashes, both of which peaked on 29th Elul, just remarkable coincidences – or were they ‘God-incidences’? … It is true that in 2014-15 there was no great financial crash on 29th Elul (or did I miss it?), but it has still been estimated that the Shemitah of 2014-15 wiped out a total of around seven trillion dollars from global markets.”
Previous Shemitah years had seen major economic challenges; 1986-87 saw both the Black Monday recession and the miners’ strike, and seven years previously there was a double dip recession in the UK.
A sterling crisis
Of course, anyone can see that this past 12 months has been a very challenging year, financially – inflation is rampant across the world, with essential food and energy prices being the worst hit. So, it could easily be argued, even without a financial crash beginning last weekend, that this Shemitah year had already caused enough major financial turbulence. (29 Elul was Sunday, and not a trading day, so the Friday and Monday surrounding it were likely to be key).
Last Friday, 23 September, precisely on the final trading day of the Shemitah year, the government announced their tax cutting plans, and almost immediately, the pound began to fall rapidly.
Last Friday, 23 September, precisely on the final trading day of the Shemitah year, the government announced their tax cutting plans, and almost immediately, the pound began to fall rapidly. This continued all week, terrifying many, and causing a massive crisis, with the Bank of England having to intervene in a dramatic way to stop the pension market collapsing. Today (Friday 30), the pound has finally responded to the intervention, but who knows what this will now precipitate – the government's woes are not over yet.
What was the real cause?
Did PM, Liz Truss and Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng cause the sterling crash by their the mini-Budget last Friday? Obviously, that was significant and related. But in reality, their economic understanding seems quite sound (though others take a different view!). For all the mini-Budget was touted as radical, it was not really massively so; it simply had the potential to make a difference.
The possibly gargantuan intervention had already been outlined earlier – ie, the energy price cap – though it’s far too early to say how much that would cost (it may cost very little in the scheme of things, as gas prices had reduced significantly – that is, until the explosion in Nord Stream 2, which has once again worried the market).
Two tax rises were reversed, and the top rate simply brought back to where it was under the high-spending governments of Brown and Blair, with the latter tax being more about optics – what it looks like to the public – than revenue. The lower income tax for most of the population was not to come into effect until April. Therefore, there is no clear good reason to think the markets wouldn’t have reacted well to it.
As the world shakes, we have a sure foundation for our souls in the Lord Almighty, our Provider.
Which brings me to believe that there may be more at play. You could blame malign intent. You could simply say that it was the straw that broke the camel’s back2 following the Covid overreaction and precipitous spending, coupled with the energy crisis precipitated by Putin’s war, on top of an already precarious economic system. Thus the tax changes were simply the final item that ultimately spooked the markets (which tend to balloon or contract according to confidence).
Or you could say that an ancient principle is at play, one set in place by God himself. There is no indication that, outside of Israel, we are called to enact the Shemitah year rules. But the principles remain:
- Release of debt for the poorest, when needed.
- Avoiding greed – which means working hard, but creating space for rest and the worship of God (sadly, much of the financial trading systems that underpin our economies are built on greed).
- Following God’s laws.
A sign of our foundations built on sand
Is God essentially sending us yet another sign to return to him, together with all of the other shaking that is going on in the world, long prophesied by Clifford Hill in this publication? These events could so easily have happened at any other time – its timing would appear to be significant as a sign for those willing to look.
God is essentially sending us yet another sign to return to him, together with all of the other shaking that is going on in the world.
Why has this pattern only been truly apparent in recent decades? Is it because the debt levels of most countries have got so high as to be unsustainable? That’s highly likely. Or because our economies are now so scarily reliant on currency and commodity markets in a way that they weren’t in the (distant) past? Probably. Or is it because Western nations, which dominate the currency markets, have progressively turned away from God?
Whatever the case, our hope should not be in money. That is building on sand (Matt 7:24-27). Our trust is in God alone, our rock. He does not want us to get stressed, but says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6).
As the world shakes, we have a sure foundation for our souls in the Lord Almighty, our Provider. And we need to share that hope and trust with those who are fearful.
Endnotes
1 Although not everyone, even within the PT team, is convinced by the Shemitah argument, first proposed by US writer, Jonathan Cahn.
2 There is a fine description of the essentially broken economic system that we have been living under in this week’s Telegraph.